Jack’s Walk

I’m still in Toronto without Jack and although I miss him, I’m secretly smiling that I don’t have to take him out for a walk. The weather around here just keeps going from bad to worse. Yesterday we had snow and today we’re having a blizzard. The forecast for next week is no better with continued temperatures below zero and more snow to come. Again, ugh!

April Blizzard

April Blizzard

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The Last Fiction.

This looks to be fascinating, and it’s a great way to learn too. The Last Fiction is a feature-length animation based on a Persian legend told in the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi. I will be looking for it, and looking forward to seeing it. The best bit might be that it’s out of an Iranian studio, so it will not end up being a stupid, offensive, Disnified version. If you could use a bit more information: Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), and Abu ʾl-Qasim Ferdowsi Tusi.

The Last Fiction.

M Is For Mattolaituri.

Mattolaituri.

Mattolaituri can be translated as carpet-washing pier. It is a tradition in Finland to wash carpets, especially the ubiquitous rag rugs in lakes, rivers or the sea, usually with tall oil soap, in the summer.

The practice is a bit controversial as the detergents are water pollutants. Myself, I’ve washed my carpets on the floor of the laundry room in my apartment building, but I as a kid I was often with my mom or grandma when they were washing carpets in a river.

In the bonus picture, a carpet press and beams for letting the carpets dry can be seen. The press cuts the drying time significantly.

Tall oil is a by-product of chemical pulping, along with turpentine. Tall is Swedish for pine. In the dominant kraft pulp process, the non-volatile resin and fatty acids of wood (especially pine or birch) form crude tall oil soap with the cooking chemicals (white liquor) and the soaps can be separated from the spent cooking liquor (black liquor), purified and the fatty acids used for making soap.

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